Nuki recommended by the Austrian start-up recordIT

The Nuki Smart Lock can be used in many different ways, making it the perfect solution to integrate into the various environments of our customers. And we’re not just talking about the living situations of private individuals who use the electronic door lock in their own homes. Companies, such as the start-up recordIT (website in German) from Graz (Austria), have discovered the benefits of a Smart Lock for themselves as well. We met up with Stefan Grubinger, Founder and Managing Director of recordIT, to ask him five questions.

Stefan, you’ve recently started using a Nuki Smart Lock. What made you decide to buy an electronic door lock?
First and foremost: because it’s convenient. We’re fortunate enough that our business has grown continuously since 2017. With recordIT, we offer administration software to help construction companies, engineering offices, and technical experts with their ongoing reporting. This makes repetitive tasks (e.g. preserving evidence) easier and more efficient. More and more customers notice that recordIT not only saves time but also improves the quality of their reporting. With a growing number of customer requests, we keep hiring new employees. Every new member of our team needs, of course, access to our office. We used to solve this problem by duplicating keys. When looking to order new keys the last time, we started exploring alternatives, and that’s when we discovered Nuki. We’ve been using the Nuki Smart Lock for a few weeks now – and in no way regret our decision.

What criteria are important to you with smart door locks?
Our employees use flexitime models, which is why some arrive at and leave the office at different times. We were generally looking to make sure that they could enter the office in the easiest and most cost-efficient manner. Sometimes people lose keys, and they need to be replaced. That’s why we started looking for alternatives with the following criteria:

• quick installation process
• easy user management
• competitive price

The installation check on the Nuki website was quite useful early on in the process. This way, we knew that our office door was generally compatible, and we wouldn’t have to replace the cylinder. Installing the Nuki Smart Lock on the cylinder was easy, and the lock was set up in just a few minutes using the Nuki app. During the selection process, the security aspect played a major role as well – this is where we had the greatest doubts.

How great was the influence of security aspects on your decision?
Whenever you make changes to your front door, security is crucial. We had a burglary at our previous office, so the security aspect was very important to us when deciding on a product. We are furthermore responsible for the protection of our customer data. Of course, all data carriers at recordIT are encrypted. However, there are still printed documents which we store at the office and which we could only protect with immense effort (e.g. a safe). This meant that cheap providers from distant countries were out of the question. We generally had a very discerning research process, taking into account critical reviews, experiences of other users, and independent product tests. In the end, we decided to purchase a Nuki Smart Lock with a Bridge for our office. I installed the products myself, granted all our employees access permissions and everything has been running smoothly ever since. Only recently we had a situation a little out of the ordinary when a colleague had to enter the office when everybody else had already gone home. I could simply open the door for him while I was on the move.

Your company also specialises in IT. Which other fields of application do you consider feasible for the Nuki Smart Lock in the future?
With our software solution we want to simplify the documentation process, which takes up a lot of time for construction companies and engineering offices. That’s why we developed the recordIT app, which fills in Word templates with pictures and other parameters such as texts or evaluations for example. The engineers can send pictures they take during a visit to the system. Thanks to the quick synchronisation of tablets and smartphones a colleague can continue working on the document on their office desktop at the same time. If one thinks this process through, the Nuki Smart Lock could be used more often for property visits and key handovers in the future as well. To name an example, estate agents would no longer have to be physically present for viewings; they could just open the door of the property from anywhere they want. Theoretically, indoor cameras could be used to follow the viewing process in a virtual way.

Stefan, please share your personal conclusion with us: Would you recommend Nuki?
One of my colleagues pointed out that the unlocking process can be heard quite well, so the Nuki Smart Lock is not really silent. However, because we do not need to constantly open and close the front door of our office during the day, the sound is not considered to be particularly bothersome or unpleasant. Some people would certainly find the Auto Unlock interesting, a feature which automates locking and unlocking processes. One could unlock the door without having to put down their briefcase and fumbling around with one’s smartphone.

My bottom line is: Of course, we can imagine life without an electronic door lock as well, but they are convenient and our Nuki Smart Lock has turned into a fixture of our everyday life at the office. We are delighted to finally arrive in the 21st century, not only with our recordIT app but also with our office door. Therefore: I would definitely recommend Nuki!